


Hot Leaf Juice

by w8less (SeeMeInTheShadows)



Series: The Dragon of the Leaf [1]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender, Naruto
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-11
Updated: 2019-10-10
Packaged: 2020-12-07 23:23:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 628
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20984105
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SeeMeInTheShadows/pseuds/w8less
Summary: “Sharing tea with a fascinating stranger is one of life's true delights”Iroh and Itachi had always been able to understand each other.Part of the AU where, no matter what life he is in, Uncle Iroh’s destiny seems to be helping emotionally distressed, fire-loving teenagers with heaps of family trauma. And this time, there’s two of them.





	Hot Leaf Juice

Iroh’s shop isn’t perfect by any means. Or, it wouldn’t be to anybody else. Its entrance is in an alleyway which means the only casual foot traffic he gets is lost children and unscrupulous thieves. Iroh sees the opportunity in that- even the worst thief can become the best employee! As for the children, well he supposes that everyone needs a warm, safe place when they’re lost. And if he can get them started drinking proper tea when they’re young, well, that certainly isn’t a problem. 

Even so, when a child purposefully walks in and takes a seat he isn’t sure what to think. But he does know what to do, as he walks over to the boy. His shop is empty that day, which is rare for him. He may not get a lot in the way of foot traffic, but word of mouth has always spread like a wildfire in Konoha. 

“Can I interest you in a cup of tea?”

The boy stares at him for a second, and Iroh knows that stare, has done it countless times across two different lives. He’s being sized up and absently he wonders what information the boy has gleaned about him. 

“You’re an Uchiha,” the boy says. And then: “What do you recommend.”

“Jasmine is my favorite,” Iroh responds. “And so are you. It has been a long time since I was called by that name. Most simply call me Iroh now.”

“I’ll take that then,” the boys says. Another pause. “I’m Itachi. Would you like to join me?”

Iroh smiles and bows his head. “It would be my honor,” he says as he leaves to go prepare the tea. He comes back moments later with a steaming pot and chuckles at the shocked look on Itachi’s face. 

“You just used an Uchiha jutsu to heat the tea,” the boy accuses. 

Iroh nods as he pours them each a cup. He sips out of his and sighs with content. “Fire has always had a mind of its own,” he says as he motions for Itachi to have a sip. “This way, I can control the heat as much as possible.”

“You sustained it for long,” Itachi muses. Then he sharply looks into Iroh’s eyes. “That must use an incredible amount of chakra.”

“Or an incredible amount of control,” Iroh points out (he happens to have both). “Which is even more important than strength. Especially when dealing with something that can burn you.”

Itachi nods and Iroh can tell in the way that the boy’s eyebrows are furrowed that something he said must have stuck. The boy is a smart one, though that doesn’t surprise him. His forehead protector was obviously new- it still had the sheen that meant it hadn’t seen blood yet. It was also way too big on the child; he was practically swimming in it. Iroh felt his heart ache, as he asked, “Itachi if you don’t mind me asking, how old are you?”

“Six,” Itachi answered, and in that answer Iroh can hear his discontent but also determination. Fascinating.

He’s not a Crown-Prince in this world, or even a General. He doesn’t have troops or servants that he can call upon at a whim. He had made a name for himself on the battlefield- but the war was over and most of the missions he still went on were solo or small groups. But, there was one thing he can do for this boy.

He places his hand on Itachi’s shoulder and smiles. “Well, Itachi, please feel free to come here whenever you need. It’s not often a child your age is already able to appreciate tea!”

Itachi smiles at him- not only that. Itachi grins at him. “I will. Thank you.” 

It’s a promise.


End file.
